Deutsch
Care instructions
Cleaning and care of a historic leather bench
Mar
Cleaning and care for an old leather bench
Today we take a look at an old wooden bench with leather cover made of smooth leather. It seems to have stood for a long time and is therefore not only dirty but also dusty.
The leather is soiled and the dirt is sometimes deep in the material. In some places it has already dried out very much, in other places it needs a little less maintenance. First, we put together all the necessary materials.
- a stiff brush
- Leather and Saddle Soap
- warm washing water
- a tapir spring sponge
- two cotton cloths
- Leather oil
- Leather grease
We start by brushing off the coarse dirt and dust with our handy dirt brush . The brush’s fibre bristles are particularly robust and resistant to wear, making it ideal for removing dirt particles without damaging the delicate leather.
So all the leather is first completely treated with the brush before rubbing the bench with the leather soap . The practical shape of the brush also makes it easy to get into corners and other hard-to-reach places. A lot of dust has settled in the seam joints of the leather, so you should brush particularly well here.
Wet cleaning of leather down to the depths
Dry cleaning is followed directly by wet cleaning for smooth leather. To do this, we pick up some of the leather and saddle soap with the moistened swelling sponge and knead it until a fine foam is formed. This can now be used to treat the leather.
The leather and saddle soap contains a wax content that cares for the material as soon as it is used. In addition, the foam penetrates deep into the depths and thus loosens the stuck dirt from the inside out. You can also leave the foam for some time so that it can work properly.
New foam should be taken up regularly and the entire leather cover should be cleaned.
When everything has been cleaned, the soap must of course be removed again. A clean cotton cloth is best suited for this. We wipe the entire leather cover with it and the loosened dirt collects in the cloth.
Tiefenpflege für beanspruchtes Leder
Nach der Reinigung benötigt das Leder nun intensive Pflege. Dafür nutzen wir Tapirs Lederöl, welches mild reinigend, leicht rückfettend und wasserabweisend wirkt. Es wird zunächst gut geschüttelt und danach etwas Lederöl auf ein sauberes Baumwolltuch gegeben und so sanft mit kreisenden Bewegungen in das Leder einmassiert. Besonders wichtig sind auch die Bereiche um die Polsterknöpfe an der Heftung und alle Nähte und Falten, da das Leder an diesen Stellen stark beansprucht wird. Hier sollte also besonders sorgfältig darauf geachtet werden, dass das Leder genügend Lederöl erhält.
Wenn alle Stellen, die eine extra Pflege benötigen, behandelt worden sind, braucht die Lederbank ausreichend Zeit zum Trocknen und Einziehen des Pflegeöls.
The before and after pictures show well: the leather is now much more well maintained, the leather oil is deeply absorbed and refreshes the leather again. It has not lost its natural patina and you can see that it is still a historical piece. However, the leather bench now looks much more neat and visually appealing.
left before: many stains, dirty, dry and brittle leather
right after: less stains, clean and well-nourished leather
For cleaning, deep care and a new shine of a smooth leather bench, Tapir recommends:
Find out how to optimally clean and care for a historic leather bench.